Navigation systems have access to a position determination device with which their position in space can be determined, for example by means of GPS signals or in future, Galileo signals. By means of a route calculation unit, a travel route to a destination specified by the user of the navigation system can be determined from the instantaneous position, and corresponding instructions as to the direction of travel can be output visually and/or acoustically. To do so, the route calculation unit accesses data relating to the navigable road network that can be travelled stored on a data storage device.
To obtain optimal route determination and to avoid traffic congestion it is known to receive additional information, e.g. according to the TMC standard (TMC=Traffic Message Channel), and to take this into account in calculating the route. It is also known to update the data, in order to be able to respond to, for example, road closures, road works sites or the like, by outputting alternative routes.
To this end, EP 0 786 646 A2 discloses spatially distributed data transmission stations, in each of which the most up-to-date data on the road conditions or road closures relevant to a local area are held, ready for access. When an appropriately equipped motor vehicle approaches a corresponding data transmission station, these data can then be transmitted wirelessly to a navigation system of the motor vehicle, so that the navigation system can calculate an alternative route where appropriate.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,018 A describes a method for providing navigation data for a navigation system of a motor vehicle. In this case, additional data, including those relevant to local road information, are transmitted to the motor vehicle whenever this is connected to a local station, for example while it is filling up with fuel.
It can be regarded as a disadvantage of this system, however, that the updating of data is only possible for a navigation system in a motor vehicle which is already located within reception range of a data transmission station, or which is connected to a local station. Updating a data storage device of a navigation system in a remote region is not possible.
At least one problem addressed by the invention is to specify a method of the kind stated above for updating data, with which the updated data can be made available to other users. In addition, other problems, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.